talkin' poetry
There's a new feature at British poetry site metaroar consisting of a group Q&A between NSW writer Angela Meyer and three Australian poets, David Prater, Paul Hardacre, and myself.
Angela's introduction says, in part, "Australia’s physical distance from the rest of the Western world can make its artists informed reflectors. It is a mish-mash of cultures, of opinions, of denials. It is still young. Mostly, modern Australian poetry recognises its roots but rejects becoming entwined with them. It wanders, delves, is frightened and influenced by a global environment."
The article makes for an interesting play between different poetics and experiences, the things similar and not the same.
From Paul: "I’d say that beauty has been vanquished. So you can see that my politics is a politics whose source is invariably love, compassion and a shared sense of humanity; a politics of similarities, instead of differences."
From David: "I didn’t start writing poetry till I left school, and even then the first five years I was writing are best forgotten. I stopped writing poetry in the mid-1990s but took it up again in earnest when I moved to Melbourne in 1998. That being said, of course I have an imaginary life, wherein my poetry forms the language I speak, to myself."
From Jill: "Poetry is a social thing, but I don’t think of it as having a ‘role in society’. Maybe I should. Poetry does things with language, language is important. Perhaps poetry’s role is to be resistant. And to refresh language. Lively it up! Stop it corroding. But now that makes it sound like a product, for polishing language. It is language work, something you do, not use."
Check out more at metaroar!
Angela's introduction says, in part, "Australia’s physical distance from the rest of the Western world can make its artists informed reflectors. It is a mish-mash of cultures, of opinions, of denials. It is still young. Mostly, modern Australian poetry recognises its roots but rejects becoming entwined with them. It wanders, delves, is frightened and influenced by a global environment."
The article makes for an interesting play between different poetics and experiences, the things similar and not the same.
From Paul: "I’d say that beauty has been vanquished. So you can see that my politics is a politics whose source is invariably love, compassion and a shared sense of humanity; a politics of similarities, instead of differences."
From David: "I didn’t start writing poetry till I left school, and even then the first five years I was writing are best forgotten. I stopped writing poetry in the mid-1990s but took it up again in earnest when I moved to Melbourne in 1998. That being said, of course I have an imaginary life, wherein my poetry forms the language I speak, to myself."
From Jill: "Poetry is a social thing, but I don’t think of it as having a ‘role in society’. Maybe I should. Poetry does things with language, language is important. Perhaps poetry’s role is to be resistant. And to refresh language. Lively it up! Stop it corroding. But now that makes it sound like a product, for polishing language. It is language work, something you do, not use."
Check out more at metaroar!
Comments
I just love interviews with poets, but suspect they are more difficult for the poet/interviewer than they eventually read.
It is surely valid (maybe even important) for a poet to think about issues within their poetry, around their poetics, every little while and the interview format is a nice way to extract ideas which often may not get an airing.
I'm thinking your interviewer is a former CQ girl? (from Mark Young's and my own neck of the woods)
cheers,